Fr. Damien, born 1840 in Tremeloo, Belgium. He joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts volunteering for the mission to the Hawaiian Islands. In 1873 he went to work as a priest in a leper colony on the island of Molokai. He died from leprosy in 1889 aged 49. The testimony of the life he lived among the lepers of Molokai led to an intensive study of Hansens disease, eventually leading to a cure. Pope John Paul II beatified Damien in 1995. He was named a saint on Oct 11th 2009.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Tough wood reflective of Damien’s ‘strong’ nature

Maui News January 29, 2013: The koa wood Dale Zarrella used to carve his image of St. Damien was one of the toughest he's worked with. The Kihei sculptor, who has shaped many types of wood into artwork over the years, said that this piece was "stubborn and strong as Damien" but in a good sense.
"He was always kind to people," Zarrella said of St. Damien, who was canonized for his tireless work with leprosy patients on Molokai. "

(But) when in the bureaucracy of the government and the church he was strong and stubborn and outspoken. I like that about him. He fought for what was right." The blessing drew about 160 people to Zarrella’s studio on the north end of Charley Young Beach in Kihei. Zarrella recently completed his koa statue of St. Damien, which was blessed Sunday evening before at least 160 people at Zarrella's studio on the north end of Charley Young Beach in Kihei. Zarrella said a patient in Kalaupapa sent over rosary beads that were placed on the statue's hand and a Bible for the blessing. A family member of a patient brought sea salt from Kalaupapa to be used in the blessing.

The statue of St. Damien, who was about 5 feet 9 inches tall, is life-sized but the artwork is 7 feet tall from its base. The commissioned statue will be taken to Oahu to be displayed at the Damien and Marianne of Molokai Heritage Center in Waikiki. A showing is planned at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Kihei, but the date and time have not been set yet.

The 51-year-old artist will soon begin his work on a monkeypod wood sculpture of St. Marianne, which also will be displayed at the museum. Mother Marianne Cope became a saint in October and spent many years on Molokai after St. Damien's death assisting leprosy patients as well as improving health care in Hawaii. Zarrella chose monkeypod wood for Marianne because he said it's a softer wood that also matches St. Marianne's physical qualities. She was petite, while Damien was stocky. While having his statue displayed in an Oahu museum is an honor in itself, Zarrella had his study sculptures for his life-sized koa St. Damien taken to Rome last spring at the request of church officials on Oahu.

A 3-foot-tall bronze statue of a young Damien currently is in the Vatican collection and a second is at the Pontifical North American College, a seminary school that is part of Vatican City, Zarrella said. Before the blessing and even before he saw the newest koa St. Damien statue, the Rev. Monsignor Terrence Watanabe of St. Theresa Catholic Church said that he felt "wonderful" about the work. "I think it's great we have wonderful artists on Maui that have been inspired by Father Damien and Saint Marianne." Watanabe performed Sunday's blessing with others, including Kahu Les Kuloloio.

Zarrella began his work on the St. Damien statue in October 2011, after venturing into the forests in Kipahulu under the guidance of kupuna who helped him choose the koa.
He said he was told that the strongest canoes had come out of the forest they went into and that koa means "strength of the warrior" or "warrior spirit," which was "so appropriate for Damien." Zarrella said that the strong koa was not a big obstacle for him, but the wood just took longer to carve. He added that when he was working on St. Damien's face he noticed a tear mark just below the saint's right eye. That made Zarrella wonder: "What did he do with the sorrow" of seeing all of the suffering patients in Kalaupapa? Zarrella said that in letters St. Damien mentioned that he never wanted to show his sorrow on his face because people there had enough sorrow to deal with.

St. Damien began his work in Kalaupapa in 1873. The Belgian priest worked with the patients there until he died in 1889 of the disease. Leprosy, or Hansen's disease, is a chronic bacterial infection of the skin and superficial nerves. Today, it can be treated by antibiotics.
For his work in Kalaupapa, Damien de Veuster was canonized in 2009. Zarrella said that his sculpture depicts St. Damien on his second day at Kalawao on the Kalaupapa peninsula just after he surveyed the pain and suffering of the patients. St. Damien is standing on the cliffs and next to him is a child under a blanket. Zarrella said that the child has no face but depicts all those children whom St. Damien would take under his wing. "What the piece represents to me is the ultimate father figure. He was such an example of ultimate compassion and love and self-sacrifice. He did not only sacrifice his life for people, he did it with joy."

Zarrella made two trips to Kalaupapa to study the area where St. Damien lived and worked and read up on the saint.
Zarrella, who is Catholic, created his first religious artwork when he was 18. It was an 8 foot crucifix that was placed above his church's altar in his home state of Connecticut.
"It's always an incredible journey being a creative person," Zarrella said of his works.
The St. Damien sculpture changed his life.
"I look at the world with more compassion," he said. "I look at the work as a service; it's not a hardship. I definitely feel I'm a different person from what I started with. I learned an awful lot."
By MELISSA TANJI - Staff Writer (mtanji@mauinews.com) , The Maui News
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Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Mozlink’ for any or all of the articles/images placed here. The placing of an article does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Mozlink

School Resources

Statistics of Patients on Molokai 1866-1908

Size of Molokai: 260 Square MilesSize of Kalawao: 800 acres

Number of Patients on Molokai:1866 -1151880 -1,0001908 - 791 (693 were Hawaiians, 42 Chinese, 26 Portuguese, 6 Americans, 5 Japanese, 6 Germans, and 13 of other ethnicities)Total deportees to Molokai: approximately 8,000The first case of leprosy (a.k.a. Hansen's disease) was documented in Hawaii in 1835.The first group of patients departed from Honolulu Harbor in 1866 on the schooner, the Warwick.

Fr. Damien - SSCC Missionary (Damien's Writings)

In 1990, Fr. Patrick Bradley ss.cc., the then Superior General of Damien's Congregation, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, wrote a circular letter to all the members of the Congregation entitled: "Fr. Damien - SS.CC. Missionary" with some perspectives on the future of mission. Fr. Bradley's circular gathers together many of Damien's writings, which provide valuable insights into Damien's own life, motivation and work as a missionary. Over the course of the coming weeks, I hope to reproduce this publication which you can read by clicking on the link below.

Followers

Important Dates - Blessed Damien

Pictures & Images of Damien

Did You Know?Father Damien's life and death among his people at Kalaupapa focused the attention of the world on the problem of leprosy and the plight of its victims. After Damien's death in 1889, the people of England established a fund and a commission for the scientific investigation of the disease.Mother Marianne Cope nursed those suffering from leprosy in Hawai'i for 35 years. She arrived at Kalaupapa in 1888. Her philosophy of personal dignity in the face of death came almost a century before its adoption as the foundation of the hospice movement.Sea cliffs rise two thousand feet above the peninsula and ocean separate Kalaupapa from the rest of the island of Moloka'i. In 1972 this area was designated as the North Shore Cliffs National Natural Landmark, recognized as a significant example of sea cliffs in the nation's natural heritage.

Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi claimed Damien to have been an inspiration for his social campaigns in India that led to the freedom of his people and secured aid for those that needed it. Gandhi was quoted in M.S. Mehendale’s 1971 account called Gandhi Looks at Leprosy as saying, "The political and journalistic world can boast of very few heroes who compare with Father Damien of Moloka'i. It is worthwhile to look for the sources of such heroism."

Religious News Network - Dublin - Podcast

Pope Benedict has announced that Blessed Damien – the Leper Priest – will be declared Saint within the next year. This follows the cure of a woman, in Hawaii, of cancer through the intercession with Bl. Damien. Eileen Good of RNN spoke to Fr. Eamon Aylward of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary and asked him about Fr. Damien and his life caring for lepers in Hawaii.

Blessed Damien of Molokai

Message to SSCC Members & Friends

Brothers, Sisters, Lay Associates and friends of Blessed Damien, please forward any images, photos, articles etc. to me for inclusion in this website. Let's build up a good resource leading up to Damien's canonisation.

BlogCatalog

Bl. Damien de Veuster

The Leper Priest, the Hero of Molokai. Born in Tremelo, Belgium, on January 3, 1840, he joined the Sacred Hearts Fathers in 1860. He was bomn Joseph and received the name Damien in religious life. In 1864, he was sent to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was ordained. For the next nine years he worked in missions on the big island, Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the leper colony on Molokai, after volunteering for the assignment. Damien cared for lepers of all ages, but was particularly concerned about the children segregated in the colony. He announced he was a leper in 1885 and continued to build hospitals, clinics, and churches, and some six hundred coffins. He died on April 15, 1889 on Molokai. Slandered by a Protestant minister, Mr. Hyde, Damien was defended by Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote an impassioned defense of Damien in 1905. He was declared venerable in 1977. Pope John Paul II declared him beatified on June 4, 1995.

Kalaupapa resident Kuulei Bell presented a lei and a kiss to Pope John Paul II during a Mass for the beatification of Father Damien in Brussels in 1995.

Logo - Damien Center Louvain

For more information about Damien's Order, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, please contact: ssccdublin@eircom.net

4. Stevenson, Robert Louis. In the South Seas. New York: Scribners, 1911.

Edward Clifford. Father Damien: A Journey from Cashmere to His Home in Hawaii. London and New York: Macmillan. 1889. 352pp.Piers Compton. Father Damien. London: Alexander Ouseley. 1933. 196pp.Gavan Daws. Holy Man: Father Damien of Molokai. New York: Harper & Row. 1973. 293pp.Charles J. Dutton. The Samaritans of Molokai: The Lives of Father Damien and Brother Dutton Among the Lepers. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. 1932. 286pp.Omer Englebert. The Hero of Molokai: Father Damien, Apostle of the Lepers. St. Paul Editions. 1962. 364pp. Translation of Le pére Damien.Hilde Eynikel. Molokai: The Story of Father Damien. Hodder & Stoughton. 2001. 324pp.John Farrow. Damien: The Leper. Sheed & Ward. 1937. 230pp.Vital Jourdan. The Heart of Father Damien, 1840-1889. Guild Press. 1960. 500pp. Translation of Le père Damien de Veuster, apôtre des lépreux.Ann Roos. Man of Molokai: The Life of Father Damien. J. B. Lippincott. 1943. 254pp.Philibert Tauvel. Father Damien: Apostle of the Lepers of Molokai, Priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. Art and Book Co.. 1904. 206pp.

Kalawao Catholic Church

Damien Statue - Hawaiian State Capitol

Damien Icon

About Me

I am involved in the selling of stamps, related materials & some gifts in order to raise money for the missions. The stamps were a gift from a life long stamp collector who donated his collection to raise money for the missions. He told us that God had blessed him in his life and he wanted to give something back.
So in an effort to raise this money, the stamps are priced at a percentage of their market value. See Hibernian Catalogue of Irish Stamps for full value.
I will endeavour to do my best to keep this Blog current. However in order to avoid disappointment you should always check with me first to make sure that the stamps you require have not been bought recently. In some cases I may forget to remove some of these listings when the stamps have actually been sold. Please bear with me and I will do my best not to disappoint.